Q&A: One Year Later

So I decided I'd do a blog answering some questions I've received.
If you have questions, please send and I will answer as best I can based on my experience :) I'll try to keep it short, but this one will be long. I tried editing it so many times but it's no use!

~ANONYMOUS asked: Do you have any regrets?

The thing I realized with this surgery is the recovery was far more extensive than I can ever have imagined (that is hammertoe AND shortening surgery cuz remember I had both). It seems easy, especially because it is a relatively short surgery process, but it's extensive in healing. My doctor compared it to a very controlled accident with a car running over your foot! I don't have any regrets, absolutely not. But I am surprised at how easy I thought it would be. I took off of work for 2 months and I thought I would be able to walk when I got back to work without having anyone know I'd done anything. WRONG! I was limping SO HARD, people said it was painful to look at me because they could feel my pain. Not to scare you, because it isn't a constant pain. The pain comes when you accidentally bend your joints, so you have to walk and not bend your toes. That's hard work! And I wasn't on pain killers, they made me dizzy. I had both feet done at the same time so it contributed to my hard limping (wanted to get it over with). I do have a freedom now, especially in the summer, where my thoughts are never on my feet. I am extremly happy with my decision and the fact that I take care of the body part I always neglected :) but I don't want to paint a rosy picture that leaves out the reality that it is a surgery that requires healing and alot of proper care on your part. If you are going in and you have decided it is right for you, then you will be fine and you will be happy! You won't be disappointed as long as you know that your doctor does his/her part in the operating room and you have to do your part when you get home for weeks, possibly months, after. Good luck, I'd love to hear about your progress! If you get scared or have any questions during the healing process, I am happy to write back based on my own experience.

~STEPHANIE asked:
After 28 days... did you doctor recommend that you start trying to use your toes more? Did she say that the more you walk on them, the easier it gets? Can you finally bend your toes, run, exercise?

I was told I could start massaging my joints and trying exercise, such as picking up a towel or object with my toes, at my own pace whether that be right away or waiting until I felt I was ready. I couldn't do it right away, bending was just TOO painful. I didn't feel pain if I left them alone. When bending became bearable, I tried forcing the joints to bend but I never felt much progress. I guess scar tissue had already developed. But I always tried before bed. The mobility I have in my toes now, a year later, is only at the tip, not at the mid joint. That's why I got the shots, twice now. It breaks up the scar tissue and really loosens up the joints. I've only gotten them in my right foot so that I can do a comparison and there is a difference. But the foot that isn't getting the shots looks better... because the toes getting the shots seem to have gotten boney. When it bends there is a weird little elevated bone that feels like a pebble and I'm afraid that the bone will rub against my shoe and give me the look of corns again. It sounds obsessive, but I didn't go through all this for nothing! At least when it was stiff, it was straight and there was no way I could have gotten corns again because there was no elevated bone for my shoe to rub against. I hope I'm describing this in a way you can envision. (If anyone has gotten the shots in your toes, please reach out and tell me your before and after experience please!) I can run, exercise, dance, etc without any issues but probably couldn't until... (I'm guess-timating) 7 months after. I'm sure everybody is different. But with my case, it would have been difficult.
I believe Geena was able to sooner (http://geenassurgery.blogspot.com/ )
Last year, about 4 months after my surgery I started walking alot. At least 30 blocks a day. I had to walk off the weight I gained anyway because being immobile will put a good 15-20 lbs on any body type. I believe she did say walking was good for my feet. But elevation is really important, even months after I still elevated my feet occasionally to watch tv etc. Because the swelling is the biggest obstacle initially. Actually, you don't even see results at first. When the swelling subsides, that's when your toes look shorter! It's like they shrink!

Questions I have for myself now are:

Do I want to not be able to bend my toes fully ever again in order to never get a corn again? What is the down side to not being able to bend the middle joint? The only time I really notice that I can't bend my joints is if I gently bang my toe. It hurts to high hell because rather than bend a little to absorb some of the shock, it stays stiff! My friend said to me the other day, "big deal if your toes don't bend". I guess I'm afraid it will affect me in the future, and by then it will be too late to break up the scar tissue. So I'm trying to determine now which is the best for me. I'm going to talk to my doctor. She also does laser treatments to loosen scar tissue. I'll see about that, although the lasers take longer to work. On a positive note, I got a chemical foot peel and I recommend it!! It doesn't hurt or burn and it left my feet so soft! So nice to take care of me!
xoxo

Tootie